Hülkenberg is interested in testing an IndyCar

The 33-year-old German had an astonishingly strong junior record, but never found himself in the right team at the right time in Formula 1 and drove 179 starts without landing a podium.

Since his last full Formula 1 season with Renault in 2019, Hülkenberg has been a reserve driver for Racing Point (now Aston Martin) and made three starts in this role last year. In the first two, both at Silverstone, he replaced Sergio Perez, who was suffering from COVID-19, and in the second, he qualified as third fastest. In his third outing, he took over from Lance Stroll, but only shortly before qualifying, but despite the last start, Hülkenberg finished eighth on race day.

Two years ago, when he knew he had been ousted from Renault’s F1 team, Hulkenberg visited Chip Ganassi Racing and has kept an interest in US open-wheel racing ever since. If he doesn’t want to drive ovals, Ed Carpenter Racing offers the best option as team owner Carpenter only makes left turns in the # 20 ECR Chevrolet, but is currently standing aside for Conor Daly on all street and street courses.

“I’ve spoken to Nico several times in the past year and a half,” Carpenter told Motorsport.com. “I think he’s definitely interested in dropping in and at least seeing one IndyCar put to the test. But nailing that down is not something that happens out of desire.

“I’m sure he and others would be even more interested in seeing what Romain did [Grosjean] and how much fun he’s having here. That has to open people’s eyes and make them wonder what options they really have. “

When asked if one of ECR’s main backers, Sonax – the German car care company whose US arm is owned by Carpenter’s stepfather Tony George – would be particularly interested in having a German driver on his team, Carpenter said, “Our program is with Sonax US, not the main program in Germany, but it might be interesting for you to have Nico here, yes. That was certainly a thought behind the first conversation.

“But I wouldn’t give it a lot of substance. The amount of people we stay in touch with over the course of a year and know who’s available out there is just part of the process we or any team go through. “

Given Grosjean’s upcoming Oval debut, Carpenter said he wasn’t sure yet if another former Formula 1 driver like Hulkenberg would be interested in trying out Ovale.

“We didn’t go into that kind of detail,” Carpenter said. “We just got to know each other and looked to see if there was any interest in our sport.

“My perception was that I don’t think he knows enough yet to be comfortable with ovals. Also, I don’t think he’s at a point where he would say he wants to come here and race. I think he’s so curious about IndyCar where he wants to test it out because right now he probably has more questions than answers. “

As has been the case for several years, Carpenter has a full-time driver in # 21 (currently Rinus VeeKay) while he shares # 20 with another driver (currently Daly). He said he’s eventually hoping for an opportunity to deploy two drivers full-time, with his own oval-only program being a part-time third car.

“It’s the next logical step in growing our team,” he said, “and we’ve been interested in that for some time. It just comes down to getting the right partnership on board, be it just with the U.S. Air Force or adding more to the program, to do these efforts full-time. So it is a goal that we continue to work towards, but of course we will make sure we get it right when we do it, which will require appropriate support.

“My personal plan is to continue in the same role that I have been. There aren’t that many ovals right now anyway. Most of the rest of our plans revolve around negotiating and talking to the Air Force, which is somewhat unique in terms of the timing of how this works. It’s different from most other programs because it’s based on partnership type, budgets, and government oversight. So it always takes a little longer than with other programs until it is buttoned.

“But I have the feeling that things are going well there, how the program is being rated and what we’re doing with it. I’m optimistic … but at the same time it’s an annual situation and we don’t get approval until a lot of other things are done. “

Photo by: Phillip Abbott / Motorsport Images

Carpenter said he was similarly optimistic about keeping VeeKay, whom he brought on as a rookie last year and who will contest the Indianapolis Grand Prix on the IMS street circuit this year. He and the Dutch sensation, who is part of the IndyCar youth movement along with Alex Palou, Colton Herta and Pato O’Ward, have a performance clause in their contract.

“I feel like we’re in good shape there,” Carpenter told Motorsport.com. “[The clause] is there to make sure we stick to our end of the deal, but as far as I can tell everyone seems happy. “

Carpenter says VeeKay’s Indy Roadcourse win added ECR’s appeal to other strong riders as the team has apparently returned to the level seen in the days of Josef Newgarden and before that by Mike Conway.

“I think we are in a better position than we have been in a long time,” he agreed. “Our big goal was to be more consistent this year so that we can fight for top 5 finishes or podiums on whatever type of track we race on, and I think that was the case: our cars were pretty good way everywhere.

“Of course it was disappointing that Rinus had to miss a race [after a cycling accident broke his collarbone before the Road America round] but to win on the Indy Road course – Conor was up there too if the collision on the first lap hadn’t derailed him – and Rinus took another podium in Detroit with a strong car there… Yes, these are certainly good ones Character.

“It was a shame for everyone that Rinus couldn’t be at Road America because I think the cars were pretty good there too.

“I am satisfied with the work of the team, satisfied with the work of the drivers. Every time you go forward, at best we are able to keep the guys we have and be attractive to other drivers who are looking. “

The driver who was VeeKay’s late replacement at Road America was the man who beat him for the Indy Lights crown in 2019, Oliver Askew, and Carpenter said the young American presented himself well.

“Yes, he impressed us at Road America and made a really good impression on everyone he worked with on the team,” said Carpenter. “It was a really difficult situation to join a new team with very little time to prepare for.

“I think the practice times showed that he could have done a little better in qualifying – he made a little mistake like Conor did – but Oliver drove really well, did everything we asked him to do, and it was really good to work with.

“Any time you have a good experience with someone on a race weekend, they’ll stay on your radar when the opportunity arises to work together.”

While Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2012 champion and 2014 Indy 500 winner, seems like a logical choice for ECR, Carpenter suggested that such a partnership is currently unlikely.

“Ryan and I are good friends and have known each other for a long time – we were teammates at Vision Racing in 2009 – and we spend time together when he’s here in town. Our families are pretty much alike.

“Sure, he’s someone I’m interested in if an opportunity ever arises. It looks like he’s looking for a new home. But with what we’re working on right now, I don’t know if there’s a place for Ryan right now, aside from the possibility of adding another program to our program.

“I think he’s still very hungry and when he gets a chance next year you will see a highly motivated guy who wants to fight for the championship and show the Andretti Autosport guys that they made a mistake, go to him to let.”